Who Should Perform Ijtihad

8/9/2019 Who Should Perform Ijtihad

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WhoShouldPerform

Ijtihd?

A

Discussion

on

Independent

Juristic

ReasoninginIslamicLaw

By:SheikhSalmanb.FahdalOadah

GeneralSupervisoroftheIslamTodayWebsite


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Copyright

This book has been adapted from 'Who should perform Ijtihd?' from

http://english.islamtoday.net

This book is not copyrighted. Any or all parts of this book may be used for educational

purposes as long as the information used is not in any way quoted out of context or

used for profit.

This material has been reviewed and forwarded for publishing and distribution by the

English language section of the Department of Islamic Resources.

Form #:4439

Date: 19/11/1426

If you have any corrections, comments, or questions about this publication, please feel

free to contact us at:

[email protected]

www.islamhouse.com
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INTRODUCTION

PraisebetoAllah;wepraiseHim,seekHisforgiveness,andturntoHiminrepentance.WeseekrefugewithHim

from the evils of our souls and the evils of ourdeeds.Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide, andwhomever Allah leads astray, none can guide. Ibearwitness that there is no godbut Allah alone withoutpartner,andIbearwitnessthatMuhammadisHisslaveandMessenger.

WeliveinatimewhenalmosteveryoneistalkingaboutIslam. Matters of Islamic Law are frequently beingdiscussedbyallandsundry.RidingthiswaveofIslamicinterestareanumberofpeoplewhohavenoclueaboutIslamic Law and no previous experience in religiousmatters. Students of knowledge have a duty to stand

against this tide and repel the falsehood that itbringswithit.Theymustexposethedevianceand ineptnessofsocalled Islamic intellectualswhojust yesterday werenationalists,socialists,orwhathaveyouuntilthatgravytraindriedupand theyhad tosearch foranewwayofmakinga living.Those intellectualsexpected thepeople

tohavevery shortmemoriesorat leastbe toomuch inthedarktofigureoutwhatwasgoingon.Happily,theywere disappointed. The people quickly saw through


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them,turned

their

backs

on

them,

and

hurried

back

to

thetruth.This,initself,isasignofthegoodnessthattheMuslimnationstillpossesses.ItshowsthattheMuslimscannot be duped so easily. Praise be to Allah whoshowedus in ourpeoplewhatbrought contentment tooureyes.

In this short treatise, Ihope to touchbrieflyupon thetopicofijtihdandtoclarifywhohasthequalificationstodiscussreligiousbeliefsandteachingsandformopinionsonmattersofIslamicLaw.Thediscussionwillbedividedintofourchapters:

Chapter One: Why We Must Address the Issue ofIjtihd.

Chapter Two: The Importance of Discussing IslamicIssues and Providing LegalJudgments in AccordancewithIslamicLaw.

Chapter Three: What It Means to Speak on Allahs

BehalfwithoutKnowledge.Chapter Four: The Many Forms that Speaking onAllahsBehalfwithoutKnowledgecantake.


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CHAPTERONE

WhyWeMustAddresstheIssueofIjtihd

Todaytherearemanyreasonswhywemusttalkaboutthismatter.Foronething,manypeopleareinvestigating

Islamiclegalmatterswhoarenotqualifiedtodoso.Theyarenotonlydelvingintosecondarylegalissues,butalsointo fundamentalmattersof faith.Though theyhavenoexpertise, theyarenotshy todiscussandcriticizeeverysinglematterrelatedtoIslam,nomatterhowdifficultorsensitivethatmattermightbe!

Compounding thisproblem is the fact that thegeneralpublicno longer tries todistinguishbetween legitimatescholarsandquacks.Theydonotknowwhotheyshouldlisten to.Theydonotask themselves:Should I listen tothispersonwhen itcomestomyreligion?Isthispersonworthmyattention?

EveryonewhodecidestospeakaboutIslamicLawfindsa receptive ear. Their opinions are passed on to othersanddiscussed.

Those people who listen to all and sundry when itcomestotheirreligiondonotbehaveinthesamemanner

when

it

comes

to

their

worldly

concerns.

They

insist

upon taking theirproblems to the proper specialists. Ifoneoftheirfamilymembersissick,youdonotseethem


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takinghim

to

the

green

grocer

for

adiagnosis.

If

they

need architecturalblueprints for a new house, they donotcontractatailorforthejob.

This is, no doubt, the sensible way to behave, andpeople generally conduct themselves thiswaywhen itcomes to theirworldly concerns.Then suddenly,when

the issue at hand is their religion, listen to anybodywilling to shoot off his mouth. It would not be anexaggeration to say that anybody who speaks aboutIslam thesedayswill findareceptiveearsomewhereoranother.

Whatmakesmattersmoreurgent is the fact that Islamhas enjoyed a resurgence of late, for which we mustthankandpraiseAllah.Becauseof this,everyone livingin the Muslim world is now courting Islam and theMuslims.ThemostardentArabnationalists,leftists,andevencommunistsofoldhavebegun tospeakandwriteaboutIslam.Someareevenmakingacareerofit.Thisis

going on all over in Egypt, North Africa, the GulfStates,andelsewhere.

Many people today are pandering to the Islamicsentimentsof themassesandare trying tocapitalizeontheirdesireforIslamicknowledgeandtheireagernesstoknow the Islamic rulings for the issues that affect theirlives.Oncewe realize this,we can appreciate thegreatdangerthatMuslimsocietyisfacingifthepeopledonotlearntoanswerthefollowingquestionsforthemselves:


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*FromwhomshouldItakemyIslamicknowledge?

*WhoisqualifiedtodiscussmattersofIslamicLaw?

*Whoshouldlearntokeepquiet?


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CHAPTERTWO

TheImportanceofDiscussingIslamicIssuesand

ProvidingLegalJudgmentsinAccordancewith

IslamicLaw

WhenapersongivesanIslamiclegalrulingonanissue,he is in effect speakingonbehalfofAllah.This shouldnot comeasa surprise toanyone.Whenapersongivesan Islamic ruling, he is not being asked about hispersonalopinion,hisattitudes,hislikes,ordislikes.Heisbeing asked about the ruling that hasbeen given on a

matterbyAllahandHisMessenger().

ThegreatjuristandlegaltheoristoftheMlikschooloflaw,alQarrf,describesthejuristasaninterpreterforAllah,because it is as ifhe interprets the sacred textsintopracticalapplication.

Ibn

al

Qayyim

came

very

close

to

hitting

the

nail

on

the

head when he entitled his famous book on IslamicJurisprudence: InformingThoseWhoActasSignatoriesonBehalfoftheLordofAlltheWorlds.1

Heregardsthemuft,theonewhogivestherulingsonmatters of Islamic Law, as onewho signs onbehalf of

1TheArabic title of thisbook is: I`lm al Muwaqqi`n `an Rabb al`lamn.


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Allahin

such

matters,

just

as

aminister

signs

on

behalf

of

the king or government he represents. Therefore, themuft ismerelyapersonwho informsothersofwhathebelievestobetherulingofAllahandHisMessenger()inagivenmatter.

Fromthisperspective,IbnalQayyimwrites:

Thepositionofsignatoryonbehalfofthekingisa

weighty position of indisputably high honor. It is

oneof themostprestigiouspositionsone canhold.

So how esteemedmust the same position bewith

respecttotheLordoftheheavensandtheEarth?2

The

position

of

muft

is

a

very

prestigious

one.

It

is

an

honor for theonewhoassumes it aswellas aweightyresponsibility. In many places in the Quran, Allah carriesthisroleoutHimself.Hesays,forinstance:

They ask you for a legal ruling. Say:Allah gives

youtheruling[SrahalNis:176]

HereAllahgives the rulingandattributes thisactivitytoHimself.

Because of the seriousness of this responsibility, theearliestMuslimscholarswouldavoidgivinglegalrulingsasmuchas theycould,passingon theburden toothers

whenever

possible.

There

are

many

references

to

this

kindofbehaviortobefound inthewritingsoftheearly

2IbnalQayyim,I`lmalMuwaqqi`n`anRabbal`lamn(1/10).


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scholars.One

excellent

example

of

this

can

be

found

in

theSunanofalDrimwhereinhedevotesachapter tothematter entitled: Chapter on ThoseWhoDreadedHavingtoGiveLegalDecisions.

In this chapter,he relates agoodnumberof instanceswhere people avoided giving legal rulings. We will

mentionjusttwoofthese:

It isrelated that `AbdarRahmnb.AbLayl (awellknownstudentoftheCompanions)said:

Ihavemet in thismosqueonehundred twentyof

theAnsr.Not one of themwould relate a hadth

withoutpreferring

that

his

brother

did

so

in

his

stead.3

Consider that thesewere one hundred twenty of themost eminentCompanions of theProphet (), some ofwhom hadbeenwith the Prophet () for a substantialamount of time and acquired a vast amount of

knowledge. In spiteof this, theydid theirbest toavoidgiving legal rulingsorevenrelatinghadth,eachoneofthempreferringtoreferthemattertosomeoneelse.

AlDrimrelatesthatalSha`bwasasked:

Whatdidyouallusedtodowhenpeopleinquired

with

you

about

things?

3Sunanal Drim(130).


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AlSha`b

replied:

You have asked the right person this question. If

anyonewasaskedaboutamatter,hewouldreferthe

matter to his colleague,who in turnwould do the

same.Thiswould go on until the question arrived

back at theman who had been asked in the first

place!4

They onlybehaved in thismannerbecause they fullyappreciatedtheseriousnessofthetaskathand.Bygivinga ruling on amatter, theywere speaking onbehalf ofAllah, and they knew that speaking onbehalf ofAllahwithoutknowledge isagraveandmostserioussin. IbnalQayym emphasizes this point repeatedly in hisaforementionedwork.5

4Sunanal Drim(136).5IbnalQayyim,I`lmalMuwaqqi`n`anRabbal`lamn(1/38).


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CHAPTERTHREE

WhatItMeanstoSpeakonAllahsBehalfwithout

Knowledge

Allahsays:

Say: The things that my Lord has indeed

prohibited are: licentious deeds whether open or

secret, sins, trespasses against rights, assigning

partners to Allah for which He has given no

authority,and saying thingsaboutAllahofwhich

youhavenoknowledge.[SrahalA`rf:33]

After mentioning these forbidden things that all therevealed scriptures throughout time had prohibited,Allahconcludesbysaying:

and saying things about Allah of which you

havenoknowledge.

This prohibition of speaking about Allah withoutknowledgecomprisesmanythings,amongwhicharethefollowing:

*It is prohibited to speakwithout knowledge about

Allahs essence, His names, His attributes, and His

actions.

Sadly, this is done by many people. Without anyguidance or evidence, they glibly speak about Allahs


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divinity,His

Lordship,

His

names,

and

His

attributes.

TheyalsohavenoreservationswhenspeakingabouttheUnseen.They freelydiscuss theHereafter,Heaven andHell, and the Sirat (Bridge) that is suspended over theFirewithouthavingascrapofevidencetotheirname!

Humanreasoncanprovidenoguidanceorevidencefor

suchmatters,forwhentheminddepartsfromitsareaofexpertise and plunges into theworld of theUnseen; itstarts towander around in ableak desert of delusionsandhalfbakedhypotheses.Lookhow thephilosophersledthemselvesandothersastraywiththeirstrenuousbutfruitlessmentalexertions.Howmuchbenefitmightthey

have realized for themselves and others had they onlypursuedmore productive lines of reasoning? But theypreferred towaste their energies on futilepursuits thatwereofnoavailtohumanity,neitherintheirreligionnortheirworldlylives.

The proper role for reason in these matters is to

understand the sacred texts, ascertain their meanings,accept them wholeheartedly, and act upon theirguidance. It is theepitomeofarrogance foraperson tothink that his rational faculties are the equal of divinerevelation.They think thatwith theirweakminds theycanpenetratetheworldoftheUnseenwhentheirminds

cannotevendecipherallthatgoesoninthevisibleworldaroundthem!


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Itis

prohibited

to

speak

without

knowledge

about

what

Allah has decreed for the future. Some people speakaboutwhat is going to happen in the future as if theyknowwhatAllah intends.This iswhat the soothsayers,astrologers,palm readers,andothercharlatansdo,whofooltheheedlessinvariousways.

It is prohibited to speak without knowledge aboutmattersofIslamicLaw.Therearethosewhospeakaboutwhat is lawful and prohibited. They discuss what isobligatory and what is not. They do all this withouthavinganyauthoritytodoso.

What,youmay ask,would this authoritybe? It is theBook of Allah and the authentic hadth of AllahsMessenger().Evenwiththis,noteveryoneiscapableofunderstanding and expressing the meanings of thesetexts. It takes aqualified andknowledgeable scholar todo so, someonewho has the requisite knowledge andskillstodiscussmattersofIslamicLaw.

Allah forbidsus from speakingonHisbehalfwithoutknowledge.Hesays:

Donotsayforanyfalsethingthatyourtongues

may put forth This is lawful and this is

forbiddensoastoascribefalsethingstoAllah.For

thosewho

ascribe

false

things

to

Allah

will

never

prosper.[SrahalNahl:116]


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He

says:

Pursue not thatwhich you have no knowledge,

for surely thehearing, the sight, and theheart all

shallbequestionedaboutit.[SrahalIsr:36]

Aboutthepolytheists,Hesays:

Whenthey

commit

an

indecent

act,

they

say:

We

foundourfathersdoingso.andAllahcommanded

us thus. Say: Allah does not command what is

indecent. Do you say of Allah what you do not

know?[SrahalA`rf:28]

Such were people who, if they were accustomed to

doing something and thenwere prohibited fromdoingso,wouldsay:ButAllahcommandedustodoit.AllahcondemnsthisbehavioroftheirsandcondemnsthemforsayingaboutAllahwhattheydidnotknow.

Speaking on Allahsbehalf without knowledge is asgrave sin. It is the root cause of polytheism. EveryMuslim, therefore, should be extra vigilant to avoidfallingintothissin.Intheremainderofthistreatise,Iwillmention differentways that people today fall into themistake of speaking on behalf of Allah and HisMessenger()withoutknowledgeorguidance.


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CHAPTERFOUR

TheManyFormsthatSpeakingonAllahsBehalf

withoutKnowledgeCanTake

1. Involvement of unqualifiedpeople in the various

branchesofIslamicknowledge:

Manyeloquentspeakersandwriterswhohave littleornoproperreligiousknowledgeareplungingblindlyintoIslamic issues that theyarenotqualified todiscuss. It isnot surprising that they rarelyback upwhat they saywithevidencefromtheQuranandSunnah.

Someof thesepeopleactuallymostof themjustifywhattheyaredoingbythefactthatIslamhasnoclergyorpriest class.Now, this isunequivocally true. Islamhas no specific class of peoplewho act as priests andhave the exclusive right to interpret scripture. This is

open

to

everyone

after

they

acquire

the

requisite

knowledge and areable todiscussmattersof religion

with knowledge andwith the proper evidences. It is,however, not open to everyone in the sense ofbeingpublicdomainforallandsundrytodoinastheyplease.

Though Islam has no priests ormonks, it does have

scholarswith

whom

others

must

consult

when

it

comes

tounderstandingtheQuranandSunnah.Itissostrangethat people understand this conceptwhen it comes to


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othermatters

of

their

life,

but

fail

to

realize

it

when

it

comestotheirreligion.

For instance, the shelves in ourbookshops thesedaysare crammed full with medical books. There arethousands of publishers around the world devoted topublishingmedicalbooksandjournals.Therearecenters

devoted to producing, publishing, and disseminatingmedical research.There is avast amountofmaterial inprint, and this body of literature is being updatedeveryday, providing up to date information for thespecialistsengagedinthemedicalprofession.

Havethepeople,becauseofthis,beenabletodispensewith doctors? Have they stopped opening hospitals,clinics, and medical research centers? People are asacutelyawareaseverof theneed for thesedoctorsandtheirservices.Whyisthis?Itisbecauseallthoseprintedpagesarejustnotenough.Alaymancannotbenefitfromthemorevenunderstandmostofthem.Themosthecan

get out of reading such literature is some generalknowledge to help him conversewith his doctor in anintelligentmanner.Effectiveselfdiagnosisandtreatmentisstillverymuchbeyondhisreach.

So how can we presume that since the texts of theQuran, theSunnah, andnumerous scholarlyworks arereadilyavailableinprint,wecandispensewithreferringour religious questions to qualified scholars?How canwe think that everyMuslim has the right to give his


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opinionabout

any

Islamic

issue

he

feels

like,

simply

because he has come across a text that he thinksaddressestheissueofhisconcern?

We should recall that poormanwho published in aleading periodical a lengthy article entitled: NotEverythinginSahhalBukhrisAuthentic.Heclearly

hadnotdonehishomeworkbeforewriting that article!Oneday,hecameacrossahadthfromtheProphetswife`ishah in Sahh alBukhr that he misread in thefollowingmanner:

TheProphet()orderedmetoputonawaistcloth

and had intercourse with me during my

menstruation.6

Ifheknewwhathewasreading,hewouldhaveknownthattheArabicwordyubshirunmeanttouchintheliteral senseanddidnotmean sexual intercourseatall.So he went on to declare the hadth weak and

inauthentic.

Why?

Because,

as

he

claimed,

it

went

against

thewordsoftheQuran!Hethenwentontoquotetheverse:

They askyou concerning thewomensmenstrual

cycles.Say:theyareahurtandapollution,sokeep

6Thehadthshouldread:The Prophet () orderedme to put on a waistcloth and then

caressedmeduringmymenstruation.[Sahhal Bukhr(301)]


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awayfrom

women

in

their

menstrual

cycle

and

do

notapproachthemuntiltheyareclean.[Srahal

Baqarah:222]

Those who make haste in these matters and neglectgoingbacktothepropersourceworksandreferencescaneasily fall into this kind ofmistake or one evenmore

pathetic.

What ismostamazing ishowreadilysomepeopleareto offer their opinions about the Prophetic hadth,deciding what is authentic and what is not, decidingwhat shouldbe accepted andwhat shouldbe rejected.Theyjust as easily delve into maters of Islamic Law,givingverdicts leftand right,declaring this lawful, thatforbidden, and something else obligatory. They do notevenbothertorefertotheavailablecommentariesonthehadth literatureand theopinionsof thescholarsbeforemakingthesedeclarations.

These

same

people

have

the

gall

to

ridicule

and

mock

others. They claim that the students of religiousknowledgespendadayandnightlearningandarethenpreparedtospeak.

Wehavebegun tohearmanyof thesepeople criticizethe young peoplewho have studied Islam, saying that

theyhave

no

insight

and

insinuating

that

they

have

only

studiedforaweekoramonthorafewdays.Ironically,these critics have no hesitation in discussing themost


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seriousand

critical

of

Islamic

issues

without

bothering

to

doevenanhourofresearchtofindoutwhatthescholarshave said. It would havebeen farbetter if they hadactually spentamonthoraweekora fewdayson thematter!IntwoplacesintheQuran,Allahsays:

Askthepeopleofknowledgeifyoudonotknow.

[SrahalNahl:43/Srahal Anbiy:7]

The people of knowledge are those who havespecialized knowledge in their field. Therefore, IslamicLawrequiresthatpeoplelearnaboutagivenmatterfromthosewhohavesuchspecializedknowledge.Iftheissueinquestionisamedicalone,thentheadviceofamedicaldoctor must be sought out. If it is linguistic, then ascholarof languagemustbereferred to.Likewise, if theissueathandisanIslamicissue,thenanIslamicscholarmust be asked. This is the way to follow Allahscommand:

Ask

the

people

of

knowledge

You do not go to a physicianwith a question aboutIslamic Law, nor do you go to ajuristwith amedicalproblem.Likewise,poets,writers,andjournalistsarenotthepeopletogotowhenlookingtoaddressIslamiclegalmatters.Still,wemustrespectthesepeopleandgivedue

creditto

the

role

that

their

professions

play

in

society,

cultivating its moral awareness, and developing thecharacterofitsmembers.Therearemanypeopleamong


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themwho

are

carrying

out

these

tasks

admirably,

for

whichwemustbethankfultoAllah.

Allahs Messenger () chastised a man for giving areligious rulingwithoutknowledge.The storygoes likethis:OneoftheCompanionswasparticipatinginabattlewhenhesufferedaseriousheadinjury.Thenhefellinto

astateofmajorritualimpurityrequiringthatheperformabathbeforehecouldpray.Heaskedhiscomradeswhatheshoulddo.Theytoldhimthathemustbathe.Hedidsoanddiedasaresult.TheProphet()foundoutaboutthisandsaid:

Curse them!Theyhavekilledhim.Shouldnt they

haveasked if theydidnotknow?Theonlycurefor

notknowingistoask.7

Here theProphet ()made it clear that someonewhodoesnothavesufficientknowledgemustask thosewhodo.Itistheirdutytoaskaswellastheirright.

There is also the story of alÀsf who committedfornicationwithamarriedwoman.AlÀsfsfatherwent

7MusnadAhmad(3078).Sunanal Drim(756).SunanAbDwd(337).SunanIbnMjah(527)asrelatedbyIbnÀbbs.Itissupported

byanotherhadthrelatedbyJbirb.ÀbdAllahSunanAbDwd(337).SnanalDraqyutn(1/190).SunanalBayhaq(1/227).ShaykhAlAlbndeemsthehadthtobeauthentic(sahh).


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tothe

people

of

knowledge

and

asked

them

about

his

son.ThenhewenttotheProphet()andsaid:

Iasked thepeopleofknowledgeand they toldme

thatmysonmustbegivenonehundredlasheswitha

whip and exiled for a year and that the married

womanmustbestoned.

The Prophet () informed him that this was correct,showinghisapproval for the fact that theman tookhisproblem to the people of knowledge and relied upontheir legaldecision,evenwhilehe, theProphet (),waslivingamongthem.8

This

shows

that

the

correct

thing

for

the

general

public

todoinordertolearnwhatispermissibleandforbiddenin their religion is to go to the people of knowledge.When we say that they should ask the people ofknowledge,wedonotmeanthattheyshouldclosetheireyes and unquestioningly follow, especially when the

questioners

are

intelligent,

literate,

and

educated

people.

Whenascholargivesarulingonamatter,thequestionerhasarighttodiscuss itwithhim,askhimforhisproof,andevenpresenthimwithotheropinionsthathemighthave heard. What is important is to make sure thatdiscussions about Islamic issues are kept within theirproperframework.Itshouldnotbeopentoeveryonetospeak without observing any guidelines or conditions

8SahhalBukhr(2669).SahhMuslim(1698).


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whatsoeverand

without

the

re

being

some

way

to

monitorwhattheysay.ItisadangertohaveunqualifiedpeoplespeakonIslamicmatters.Peoplecannotdispensewith themuft; the person specialized in Islamic Lawwhohas theexpertiseandexperience togiverulingsonIslamiclegalmatters.

2.Claimingtheabilitytoperformijtihd:

Anotherwaypeople speakonbehalfofAllahwithoutknowledgeistofalselyclaimtobequalifiedtoengageinijtihd or independentjuristic reasoning. Some people

are

not

content

with

just

speaking

on

Islamic

issues.

They

mustgo furtherandclaim that theyare fullycapableofengaginginindependentjuristicreasoning.

Now,wedonotclaim,assomehave,thatthedoorstoijtihd are closed. No one should ever say that webelittle thevalueof thehumanmind.However,wealso

donot saywhat some contemporarywritershave said:thatthedoorstoijtihdarebrokenandanyone,whetherqualified or not, can pass through themwhenever andhoweverhelikes!

Therearesomepeoplewhoarenotqualifiedtoengagein ijtihdwhoclaimthattheyare.Whentheydelve into

religiousmatters, theyclaim that theywillberewardedby Allah for their efforts. They say that they willbeexcusedfortheirmistakesinjudgment.Thesepeopleare


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definitelyamong

those

who

speak

on

Allahs

behalf

withoutknowledge.

Letus lookatsomeof theconditions that the scholarshave determined for a person tobe a qualifiedmuft,conditions thatapplyeven for thosemuftswhoarenotqualifiedtoengageinindependentjuristicreasoning.

1.Islam:Anunbelieverorapostatecannotbeamuft.He has no right to speak onmatters of IslamicLawuntilhe accepts Islam,or, in the caseof an apostate,announces his repentance. Thereafter, such a personcanembarkupontherequiredstudytoenterintosuchanarduousandseriousoccupation.

2.LegalAccountability:Apersonwhocannotbeheldlegally accountable for his own actions cannotbe amufteither.

3. Upright Character: A person of bad charactercannotbeamuft. Itmakesnodifferencewhetherhis

deficiencyincharacterisinhiswords,hisdeeds,orhisbeliefs.

These three conditions are a point of unanimousscholarly agreement. There are, however, otherconditionsaboutwhichthereissomedisagreement.

4.

Ijtihd:

Some

scholars

are

of

the

opinion

that

a

personwhoisunabletoengageinindependentjuristicreasoningcannotbeamuft.This is toensure thathewill not unwittingly give a ruling that goes against


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juristicconsensus.

The

conditions

for

ijtihd

are

well

known, like knowledge of the Arabic language,knowledge ofjurisprudence, and knowledge of theareasofjuristicconsensus.Hemustalsobeconversantin the different opinions of the scholars and theirarguments,sohewillbeabletoweighthemeritsand

demerits

of

their

opinions.

5. Legal aptitude:Many scholars require a muft tohave the intelligence and insight to deal effectivelywithlegalmatters.Amufthastobeabletoaccuratelyassess the characterof thepeoplewhocome to themseeking legalcounselandsee through theirplotsand

deceptions.Hehastoknowtheappropriatemeansofarrivingatthetruth.

Ahmadb.Hanbal,aftermentioning similar conditionsforaqualifiedmuft,insiststhat,beforeheembarksuponissuing Islamic legal rulings, a muftmust also possesswithinhimselfthefollowingfivecharactertraits:

1. Purity of intention: Unless a person has a goodintention, neither he nor his speech will beenlightened.

2.Knowledge,discernment, anddignity:Themoralvirtuesofthemuftshouldbeofsuchastocommand

trustand

respect.

He

should

be

an

example

for

others

to follow and someone people wouldbe willing toemulate.


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3.A

grasp

of

the

issues:

He

should

have

asolid

grounding inall facetsof IslamicLawand theabilitytograspallthepertinentdetailsofthemattersthatheinvestigates.

4. Financial security:Hemust notbe dependent onthepeople,otherwisetheywilldevourhim.

5. People skills:Hemust know how to relatewithpeople, see through their deceptions, and recognizethegamesthattheyplay,sohedoesnotfallvictimtotheirliesandschemes.9

The leadingjurists of the past used tobe extremely

careful

when

giving

rulings

and

they

used

to

forbid

those

who had insufficient knowledge fromdoing so. Ibn alQayyimwrites:

Our mentor (Ibn Taymiyah) was severe in his

condemnation of those people who hastily gave

Islamic legal rulings without knowledge. Once, I

heardhimsay:

Somepeopleaskedme if Ihadbeenappointedas

an official tomonitor the conduct of the mufts. I

repliedthatifthereissomeoneappointedtomonitor

andregulatetheworkofthebakerandthechef,then

9Refer to: Ibnal Qayyim, I`lmal Muwaqqi`n `anRabbal`lamn(4/199).


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theredefinitely

should

be

someone

appointed

to

monitortheworkofthemuft.10

Itwas the caseback then,just like it is today, that foreachprofessiononeofitspractitionerswasappointedtomonitortheconductofthepeopleengagedinit.Sotheyasked Ibn Taymiyah if he hadbeen appointedby the

government tomonitor the conduct of themufts.Heresponded to them thathedecidedonhisown to fulfillthis function and prevent peoplewithout the requisiteknowledgefromissuingIslamiclegalrulings.

It is, therefore, quite astounding to hear some peopletodayclaimingthatIbnTaymiyahwasoftheopinionthateveryone, even the layperson, is allowed to engage inijtihd.Howcantheyevenmakesuchaludicrousclaim,whenIbnTaymiyahusedtoactivelypreventunqualifiedpeople fromgiving religious rulings?Hewould exposethosewho tried to pass themselves off as scholars andpubliclydenouncethem.

Ifyoutrytoobjecttowhatthesepeoplearedoing,theyoftensay:Mybrother,donotberigid insomethingthatisflexible.DidntAllahsMessenger()say:

If someone gives a ruling that is correct, then he

receives a double reward, and if he gives a ruling

thatis

wrong

then

he

receives

asingle

reward.11?

10IbnalQayyim,I`lmalMuwaqqi`n`anRabbal `lamn(4/217).


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Iwill

either

get

areward

or

adouble

reward.

So

why

areyougettingsoupset?Andwhydoyoufightwithmeabout my speaking, writing, and giving rulings onimportantIslamiclegalmatters?

This is how they often phrase their arguments. Thetruth of the matter is that the hadth they are using

applies only to people who fulfill the following twoconditions:

1. The person should have the ability to perform

ijtihd and possess the requisite knowledge and

expertise.

2.The

person

must

expend

every

effort

in

investigatingthematterofconcern.

Itisnotenoughthattheissuemaybewellknown.Theinvestigator must research the issue from all angles,carefullyweighing the strengths andweaknessesof thedifferent opinions that exist. Any supporting research

thatneedstobedonemustbecarriedout.Inthisway,everyeffortismadetoensurethatthetruthis likely to be found. If both of these conditions arefulfilled, then the personwill notbeblameworthy.Hewillberewardedforhisefforts.Ifhegetsitright,hewill

11Sahhal Bukhr(7352).SahhMuslim(1716).Relatedfrom`Amrb.al`s.


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receiveadouble

reward.

If

he

makes

amistake,

then

a

singlerewardwillstillbehis.

Asforapersonwhospeakswithoutknowledge,heisasinner, even ifhejusthappens to get the answer right.This isbecausehisanswer, if ithappenstobecorrect, isonlycorrectbyvirtueofcoincidenceandhasnothingto

dowiththedictatesofIslamicLaw.This isthemeaningofthefollowinghadth:

WhoeverspeaksabouttheQuranonthestrengthof

hisownopinionandgetsitright,heiswrong.12

Ifthishadthprovesauthentic,thenitsupportswhatwe

are

saying

here.

Anyhow, there is an established hadth wherein theProphet()said:

Whoever issues a baseless legal verdict, then its

sinwillbeontheonewhoissuesit.13

Therefore,

a

person

who

issues

an

Islamic

legal

ruling

without knowledge and without valid evidence willcarrythefullweightofthesinforthosewhofollowhiminhiserror.

12Sunanal Tirmidh (2952).AlTirmidhdeclared thisnarrationasstrange (gharb).Scholarssuchasal BukhrandIbnHibbnhave

criticizedoneofitsnarrators,Suhaylb.AbHazm.13MusnadAhmad (8067).Sunan alDrim (159).Sunan IbnMjah(53).


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Allah

says:

Whodoesmorewrong thanonewho inventsa lie

against Allah to lead astray people without

knowledge?Allahdoesnotguide apeoplewhodo

wrong.[SrahalAn`m:144]

Those who speak on matters of religion withoutknowledgearethemostoppressiveofwrongdoers.Theyoppressthemselvesaswellasothers.TheywrongalltheMuslimsandsocietyat large.Theybear thesinofwhattheydoaswellas thesinsof those they leadastray.OntheDayofRequital,theywillshouldertheburdensofallthosepeoplewhofollowedtheminerror.Allahsays:

That theymay bear on theDay of Requital their

ownburdensinfullandalsosomeoftheburdensof

thosewithoutknowledgewhom theymisled.Alas,

howgrievous istheburdentheyshallbear![Srah

alNahl:25]

IbnalQayyimwrites:Whoever gives religious rulings to the people

withoutbeingqualifiedfor the task isarecalcitrant

sinner.Whoever holds a political post and affirms

thisbehaviorisjustassinful.14

Ibn

al

Jawz

writes:



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Itis

the

duty

of

those

in

authority

to

prevent

them

from behaving like this, as the Umayyads had

preventedthem.Suchpeoplearelikeguideswhodo

notknow thewayor likeablindmanpointingout

the direction of prayer. They are like bogus

physicians who ignorantly provide people with

medicaltreatment.

They

are

actually

worse

than

all

ofthosepeople.Sinceitistheresponsibilityofthose

in authority to prevent unqualified people from

offeringmedical treatment to thepeople, thenwhat

shouldbe the casebe for thosewho issue religious

rulingsbutdonotknowtheQuranandSunnahand

have

no

knowledge

of

the

religion?15

It is startling to see the double standards appliedbythosewhopresideover theaffairsof theMuslims,whosuppresstheviewsoftheirpeersandoftenrestrictotherscholars fromspeakingabout thereligion,while leavingthedooropentoeveryunqualifiednovicewhowishesto

tryhis

hand

at

Islamic

scholarship.

Thejuristsof theHanafschoolof lawspeakat lengthabout a type of muft they call the impudent muft.Ab Hanfah writes: This impudent muft must berestrained.Why?



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becausehe

plays

games

with

Islamic

legal

rulings

byissuingthemwithouthavingtheabilitytodoso.

MayAllahprotecttheMuslimsfromtheevilofthose

who bring destruction upon religious injunctions,

who dress the hearts of wolves in the clothes of

sheep.

Naturally, it ispossibleforastudentwho iscapableofinvestigating an issue to do so. If he has the ability torefertothepropersourceworks,compileandanalyzeallthe evidence, weigh the different opinions, and thenarrive at worthwhile conclusions, he may engage inijtihdtoanextent.Apersonmaybecapableofengaging

inijtihdinsomeissuesandnotothers,butstillthereareconditionsthatmustbemet.

3.Delving into a specific issue on the presumption

thatitissimple:

One way people fall into speaking on Allahsbehalf

without

knowledge

is

to

justify

themselves

by

arguing

that thematters theyarespeakingaboutaresimpleandeasy. It is amazing how fast people arrive at thatconclusion.

Consideragroupofpeoplemaybeordinarypeopleormaybe socalledmodern intellectuals. They sit around

talking.None

of

them

have

any

deep

knowledge

of

Islamic Law that would enable them to arrive at anyworthwhile conclusions, yet they start talking about


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thesematters

anyway.

Their

discussions

do

not

stay

confinedtothinkingoutloudorgroupstudy.Theygosofar as to form very specific opinions and very pointedconclusions. Ifyou try to talk to them aboutwhat theyaredoing,theysaytoyou:

These issues are simple. They do not require any

heavydeliberations.

ItwasagreatgiftofAllahwhen thegreatjurist ImamMlik said toaquestioner thewords:Idonotknow.Theman replied that the issue he asked aboutwas asimpleone.ThismadeMlikveryangryandhesaid:

Thereis

nothing

in

matters

of

knowledge

that

can

betakenlightly.HaventyouheardAllahswords:

Soonshallwesenddowntoyouaweightyword.

[SrahalMuzammil:5]?16

The rule tobe followed is that issues of Islamic legalimportancearenevertobetakenlightlyorbrushedoffaseasy. The person who speaks on these matters isdiscussingthelawsofAllah,soitisasifheistranslatingthewordsofAllahandHisMessenger().Itisjustasifhe is speaking on Allahs behalf. He is not pullingsomethingoutofhisownpockettopresenttothepeople,



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sohe

has

no

right

to

take

alaid

back

attitude

about

what

heisdoing.

4.Assuming that theexistenceofdisagreement isan

argumentinandofitself:

This isoneof themostperilouswaysapersoncanfallinto the error of speaking on Allahs behalf withoutknowledge.Itisalsooneofthemostcommonwaysthatithappens inourdayandage.Manypeople,especiallythose who possess specialized knowledge in certainunrelated fields, assume that the existence ofdisagreementonanissueisenoughjustificationforthemtoselectforthemselveswhicheveropiniontheylike.Forexample, if thereare twoestablished,scholarlyopinionsonacertainmatteronethatagiventhing isforbiddenand the other that it is permitted they automaticallyassumethat it ispermitted.Why?Becausetherearetwoopinions on the issue, and they assume that themereexistenceofdisagreementisavalidproofinandofitself!

TheMuslims havebeen aversely affectedby a goodnumber of thesepeoplewhohavebeenpromoting thisidea to the general public. They give the people theimpression that they can choosewhateveropinions suittheirpersonalwhimsandfancies,withoutanyregardforthe evidencebehind thoseopinions.Disagreementon amatter, for them,usually equates topermissibility.Thishas been observed by alKhattb and alShtib who


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havewritten

against

those

who

take

disagreement

on

a

matterasanindicationofitspermissibility.

One of thesepeoplewill turn to you and say: Omybrother! Do notmake things difficult for people. Thisissue is one inwhich the scholars havedisagreedwithoneanother.Sowhydoyoucondemnthosewhoelectto

follow another opinion on the manner? Why do youinsistonarguingwiththem?

Such a person is clearly not basing his views onevidencefromtheQuranandSunnahoronanyresearchinto which of the scholarly opinions is correct. Thisperson isnot following a scholar thathe reliesupon inthese matters. If he had been doing any of this, hisbehaviormighthavebeenacceptable.

One of themmight say: Look, there is disagreementbetweenscholarsonthismatter,soIwillnotacceptwhatyousay. Ifhe thensays thathe isprepared toresearch

the

issue

thoroughly

until

he

arrives

at

the

conclusion

that convinceshim, thenwehavenoobjection to thisprovided that he does not try to arrive at an opinioncontrary to those of all the scholars and that he issincerely lookingforthetruthandnotjustfollowinghiswhimsanddesires.

If,on

the

other

hand,

he

says

that

he

follows

in

these

matters a certain scholarwhom he trusts, evenbeforeknowingthatscholarsviewonaparticularissue,thenwe


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alsohave

no

objection.

As

long

as

he

is

not

versed

in

Islamiclaw,thenheisdoingnothingwrongbyfollowingsomeonewhomhetrusts.Hemust,however,followthatscholarsopinionswhethertheyareeasyordifficultandwhethertheyconformtohisfanciesornot.Ontheotherhand,ifheclaimsthathecanjustpickandchoosewhich

scholarly

opinions

he

feels

like

following,

then

what

role

isleftforIslamiclaw?

The decisive factormustbe Islamic law, not personalinclination. Allah commands us when we fall intodispute to takemattersback to theQuranandSunnah.Allahsays:

Ifyoudifferinanythingamongyourselves,referit

toAllahandHisMessenger.[Srahal Nis:59]

Thedifferingmentioned in theverse concernsmattersof religion.We are commanded in this verse to referthesematters inwhichwedifferbacktotheQuranand

Sunnah

Allah

and

His

Messenger

respectively.

AllahmakestherulingclearregardingtheonewhodoesnotaccepttheQuranandSunnahasthedecisivefactor,forHesays:


toAllahandHisMessenger,ifyoubelieveinAllah

andthe

Last

Day

[Srah

al

Nis:

59]


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Referringmatters

of

dispute

back

to

the

Qur

an

and

Sunnahiswhatthebelieversdo.Asforunbelievers,theywill choose whatever they like. In other places in theQuran, Allah negates thebelief of those who do notaccepttheQuranandSunnahastheircriteria.Hesays:

Have younot turnedyour attention to thosewho

declarethattheybelieveintherevelationsthatcometo you and to those before you, but who wish to

resort to false judges in theirdisputes though they

wereorderedtorejectthem?[SrahalNis:60]

AndHesays:

Theysay:

We

believe

in

Allah

and

His

Messenger

andweobey.Yetevenafterthat,someofthemturn

away.They arenot reallybelievers.When they are

summoned toAllah andHisMessenger so that he

may judgebetween them, some of themdecline to

come.But if the right ison theirside, theycome to

him

with

all

submission.

[Srah

al

Nr

:

47

49]

If they find thatoneof the lawsof Islam conforms totheirpersonalinterests,theytaketoitwholeheartedly.If,however, the law does not suit them, they reject it,saying: There is disagreement among scholars on thismatter.They accuse thosewhodare toobjectofbeing

severeand

overly

strict.

Wedonot seek toveil the fact that scholarsdisagree,nordowedismissanyscholarsviewinparticular.What


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wedo

find

objectionable,

however,

is

the

outright

dismissalofthebasisuponwhichsuchmattersaretobedecided.ThisbasisisclearlystatedbyAllahwhenHesays:


toAllahandHisMessenger.

Islam does not permit us to decide on thesemattersaccording to our whims and inclinations. Quite thecontrary, Islam seeks to take people away from theirpersonaldesires andbring them in accordwithAllahslaws.

Allah

says:

Andwe put you on a straightway of religion, so

followitanddonotfollowthedesiresofthosewho

knownot.[SrahalJthiyah:18]

Likewise,Allahsays:

Andjudge

between

them

by

what

Allah

reveals

and

donotfollowtheirvaindesires.[SrahalMidah:

49]

Therefore,what Allah reveals is one thing andwhattheir vain desires call towards is another. We arerequiredtogovernbywhatAllahhasrevealed,evenifit

meanssettingasideourpersonalinterests.A person,when he petitions a scholar for an answerregardingaparticular issue, isalreadyacutelyawareof


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hisown

personal

inclinations

and

desires,

so

we

can

rest

assured thathe isnot inquiring about these. In fact,heonly goes to the scholar to ask about the ruling of hisLord.Heisnomoreinterestedinthatscholarspersonalpredilections than he is concerned about his own.Therefore,itiswrongforamufttoanswerhimthatthere

are

two

opinions

on

the

matter

and

that

he

should

pick

whichever one suits him. By doing this, the muft isactually referring the matter back to the questionersfancy.Thisiswrong,becausethequestionercametohimseekingtherulingofAllahandHisMessenger().

There is a very dangerous tendency that comes as an

outgrowthofthis idea.Thisdangerbecomesclearwhenwelookatthestagesthroughwhichthiswayofthinkingtakesitsadherents.

The first stage is for people to take the existence ofdisagreementonamatterasawayoffreeingthemselvesfrom the fettersof Islamic law.Wheneveryou tell them

something,theymerelyhavetosay:Thescholarsareindisagreement on this matter. In this way they feelthemselvesfreefromaccountability.Inordertoestablishtheexistenceofdisagreementonagiven issue,theywillsometimes search far and wide to unearth the mostunusualanduntenableopinionsthathaveeverbeenheld

byscholars.IfyouweretoreferbacktotheolderbooksofIslamic law,youwouldoftenfindthattheseopinions


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havelong

been

decisively

refuted

and

rejected

by

the

scholarlycommunity.

Ifweweretomentionsomeofthestrangeopinionsthathaveatonetimeoranotherbeenheldbysomejurists,wewouldshockourreadersoutoftheirsenses.Forexample,I once read that one of the earlyjurists claimed that a

personwho isheavily indebt toanotherandunable tomakepayment can hand himself over in slavery to hisdebtorinlieuofhisdebt!Now,wouldanyoneofuswantto advance this opinion?!Can such an opinion everbesupported by the Quran and Sunnah? In fact, it isdiametrically opposed to the fundamentals of Islamic

Lawand to theestablishedconsensusof thejurists.Yet,someoneinhistoryonceheldthisopinion,oratleastthisopinionhasbeenattributedtosomeone.

So,ifweweretogoaheadandaccepteverystrangeandunsubstantiatedview everheldby someone,wewouldget nowhere. We would dismantle Islamic law

completelybeforeweranoutofcasesofdisagreement.

This, though, isonly the firststage.At thisstage, theystillsaythatwhateverisamatterofconsensusamongallthe scholars is binding. Only in matters wheredisagreementexistsdotheyallowpeopletochoosewhatthey like.When they take this line of thinking to itsultimateconclusion,theyarriveatthesecondstage.


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Atthis

stage,

these

people

say

that

the

principle

of

juristicconsensusisitselfamatterofdispute.Thesesamepeople,whojustyesterdayused to say that theyacceptnothingbut what is establishedbyjuristic consensus,today say that they need not bother with consensuseither,sincetherehavebeensomescholarswhodidnot

accept

it.

They

might

mention

the

scholars

of

the

Dhhir

school of thought, who only accepted a very narrowdefinition of consensus, or some later scholars ofjurisprudence who rejected the principle of juristicconsensusoutright.

Ifyouthenweretoaskthem:Arentyoutheoneswho

usedtoalwaysreferusbacktojuristicconsensus?theywillreply:Yes,buttheprincipleofconsensusisitselfindispute, sowe arenotboundby it.Wedonothave totake even those opinions as our own.We can, in fact,haveourownopinionsonthesemattersaswell.

It is very easy to conceive of people arriving at this

stage of thinking, especially since fewpeoplemake thedistinction between the scholars of the past andcontemporary scholars in matters of consensus. If amodern scholar says something that goes against theconsensusofthescholarsofthepast,theyseehisopinionasproof thatnoconsensusexists in thematter.Someof

them advance for their arguments the opinions ofcontemporary figures likeMuhammad Rashd Rid orMuhammadShaltt.


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Nodoubt

our

present

age

has

produced

its

share

of

eruditescholarswhoareof thehighestcaliber.Manyofthem, likeMuhammadRashdRid,offerussomeveryastuteopinions.

At the same time, they hold other opinions that areunacceptable.Thepurposeof saying this isnot topass

judgment over any of these scholars. The point I amtrying to make is that some people do not make thedistinction between the earlier scholars among whomconsensuswas reached and a later scholarwho comesalongandviolatesthatconsensuswithoutrealizingit.

AgoodexampleofthiscanbefoundinthebookFathalMun`im,whichdiscusses issues found inSahhMuslim.When the discussion of shaving thebeard comes up andbynomeans istheissueofshavingthetopicofourdiscussionitsays:

Since shaving the beard has now become the

common

practice

in

Eastern

countries,

so

much

so

thatagoodnumberof religiouspeoplehavebegun

tofollowthecustomofthegeneralpublicfromfear

ofpublic ridicule, Idecided toundertakeextensive

research tosee ifIcouldfindanyprecedentfor the

permissibility of shaving, so that some of these

learnedpersonagesmighthaveanoptioninamatter

whichisunlawfulbygeneralagreement.


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Lookat

the

inconsistency

here.

He

states

clearly

that

shaving thebeard is unlawfulbygeneralagreementbut still goes on to say: I decided to undertakeextensive research tosee ifIcould findanyprecedent

forthepermissibilityofshavingsohecouldgivethosepoorwretcheswho feelashamed in frontof thegeneral

public

a

justification

for

shaving.

Therefore, ifweaccept thatwe shouldneitherdiscussnor reproach anybody inmattersofdisagreement, thenwewill invariably arrive at the principle of consensusitself, since it is also a matter wherein there isdisagreement. This leaves nothing that cannot be

overturned save fundamental issues ofbelief.Actually,noteven these issuesofbeliefaresafe,sincepeoplecandrag in divergent views from variousmisguided sects,like the Murji`ah, Jahmiyyah, Qadriyyah, Khawrij,Mu`tazilah,andothers.

From here, the religionbecomes a very chaotic and

unruly entity. It becomes impossible to say anythingconclusive about it. Nothing remains of it except thedubious notion that some people call the spirit of thereligion. I implore them to tellmewhat this spiritofthereligionis!Wheredidtheychancetofindit?Wouldthatitwerescholarswhospokeonthesemattersforit

wouldbe impossible for scholars to talk such rubbishthen theproblemwouldbe trivial.But the situation is,indeed,howapoetoncedescribed:


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Ifonly

Iwere

put

to

the

test

by

aHashemite.

From

the

tribeof`AbdalMadnhisunclesbe;

Whattheythrewatmewouldvebeeneversoslight,

Butlookatthosewhohavetriedme,justcomeandsee!

Weshouldtakealookatthestateofthesepeople.Some

ofthem

have

lost

any

last

vestige

of

logic

and

objectivity,

not to mention shame. If someone ventures to say tothem: My opinion about the matter is that it isunlawful theyhaveahabitof replyingwith:ByGod!Heisaccusingthepeopleofunbelief!Heiscastingthemout of Islam! Now where in the statement that

something

is

unlawful

is

there

any

implication

of

unbelief?

A person could deem something unlawful whilemaintainingthatanotherpersonwhoengagesinitisnoteven a sinner, let alone an unbeliever, because thatpersonmayhaveadifferentviewonthematter.Hemay

seeitaspermissiblebasedonvalidevidencethathefindsconvincing.Forthatreasonheisnotasinner.Sohowdothesepeoplecomeoffsayingthatapersonwhodeclaressomethingunlawful iscallingotherpeopleunbelievers?Where is the objective discourse? Where is theargumentationinthebestofmanners?Whereisthelogic

inall

of

this?

Where

is

the

atmosphere

of

free

enquiry

thattheyaresofondofmentioning?


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Ifyou

refer

them

to

the

words

of

Allah

and

his

Messenger (), theyoften say something like:Areyoumore knowledgeable than soandso to have thepresumptionofdisagreeingwithhim?!Thenifyoureferto thewordsofpeopleofknowledge, they returnwith:You are a stagnant,blind follower, adhering to those

opinions

unyieldingly

and

defending

them

for

their

own

sake!

Shouldwe notbe taken abackby such contradictoryarguments? They go running after the opinions of thisoneandthatonthepresumptionofaccordingrespecttothescholars,calling thosewhodisagree recalcitrantand

irreverent.Thentheyturnaroundandrejecttheopinionsof the scholarsby extolling the virtues of free thoughtand by purportedly opening the doors to ijtihd.Sometimes they call towards free enquiry and at othertimestheycutofftheiropponentsvoicesandtrytokeepothersfromhearingwhattheyhavetosay.Howlongcan

thisunruly

conduct

be

allowed

to

go

on?

5.Seekingoutlenientrulings:

Anotherway people speak onAllahsbehalfwithoutknowledgeisbyactivelyseekingoutlenientrulings.

I should startbymaking clearwhat Idonotmeanbythis.Iamnottalkinghereabouttheconcessionsthatexistin Islamic law, like thepermissiongiven toa travelerto


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breakhis

fast

and

combine

his

prayers

and

the

permissiongiventoasickpersontobreakhisfast.Allahloves his worshippers to take these concessions. TheProphet()said:

Allah loves that you put His concessions into

practice as much as He loves that you put His

commandmentsintopractice.17

Allahsays:

Hehaschosenyouandhasimposednodifficulties

onyouinreligion.[SrahalHajj:78]

Allahalsosays:

Allahwantseaseforyou.Hedoesnotwant toput

youintodifficulty.[SrahalBaqarah:185]

TheProphet()said:

Makethingseasy.Donotmakethemdifficult.18

TheProphet()alsosaid:

I have been sent with the true and lenient

religion.19

17MusnadAhmad(5836,5839).18Sahhal Bukhr(69).SahhMuslim(1734).19MusnadAhmad (24334, 25341). There isweakness in its chain oftransmission,butitisstrengthenedbyothernarrationsthatsupportitandbringittoagradeofgood(hasan).


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Thereligion

of

Islam

possesses

the

richness

and

flexibility tomake it suitable for every time and place.Thisdoes notmean that Islam yields to thedictates ofcircumstance,butitdoesmeanthat,justasitis,itcanbeappliedunderallconditions.

The specialists in Islamic Law arewell aware of the

tolerance and ease that are inherent in the religion.Severity is not a sign of knowledge.A true scholar isalways closer to easiness than others are. The eminentjuristSufynalThawrsaid:

Knowledge, to us, is leniency coming from a

reliablesource.Anyonecanbesevere.

Though the religion is lenientandeasy for thepeople,thisdoesnotmeanthatconcessionsshouldbetakenfromanyone.Theymustbetakenfromareliablesource,fromsomeone who knows where leniency is needed andwhereseverity isneeded.Everyonecanbesevere,but it

is

not

correct

to

forbid

everything

new

that

comes

along.

A scholar has to be able to look at things withdiscernmentandknow,on thebasisofsoundand fixedprinciples,what to accept andwhat to reject.MaywepraiseAllah that thereareanumberofscholarsaroundtheworldtodaywhoarequitecapableofdoingthis.

Itis

not

my

intention

to

deal

in

detail

with

the

topic

of

ease and concessions in Islamic Law. I have discussed


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thistopic

in

other

places.

What

Iwish

to

do

here

is

merelyemphasizethepointthatIslamisaneasyreligion.

Among the ways Islam makes things easy for theworshippers is thatAllah,when he closes onedoorbyforbidding something, opens another by showing itspermissible alternative.AllahsMessenger,when asked

about a matter, would often clarify both what isforbiddenandwhatisallowed.

Ab Sa`d alKhudr relates to us that AllahsMessenger()appointedamantogovernKhaybar;thatmancame tohimwithaveryhighquality typeofdate.AllahsMessengerasked:

AreallthedatesofKhaybarlikethis?

He replied: ByAllah, no.OMessenger ofAllah,we trade two quantities of regular dates for one

quantityoftheseorthreequantitiesofregulardates

fortwoquantitiesofthese.

AllahsMessengersaidtohim:Donotdothis.Sellyour dates formoney, and then use thatmoney to

purchasethehighqualitydates.20

20Sahh al Bukhr (2202, 2302, 2303,,4244, 4245). Sahh Muslim(1593).


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Wecan

see

here

that

when

the

Prophet

()

prohibited

bartering dates for dates, he provided a lawfulalternative.

We are in dire need of scholars who specialize ineconomics, administration, sociology, psychology,politics, and every other field of inquirywho are also

conversantwith IslamicLaw.We need thesepeople sowe can approach every issue that confronts us from aproper Islamic perspective. Alternatively, scholars ofIslamic Law must work in conjunction with otherspecialists so they can have a proper understanding oftheissuesthattheymustdecideupon.

Fortunately,thereareacademicbodiesthatworkinthisway tosomeextent, like theCouncilofLeading IslamicScholars, the Islamic Law Academy, and a number ofother organizations throughout the world. This is abeginning,butmore isneeded.Wehope that this trendwill develop until all the problems facing theMuslims

canbesolvedinthelightoftheQuranandSunnah.

One of the ways we can avoid harshness is not tocompelpeopletofollowanyoneopinionorschooloflawaslongasanotherhasvalidevidencetobackitup.Atthesame time,wemustnever say to them:Youmay takethe opinion of one school of law over another simplybecause it iseasier.We cannotpreferoneopinionandabandon another in complete disregard of the Islamiclegalconsiderationsusedtoarriveatthoseopinions.


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Onone

occasion,

Iencountered

some

people

who

had

established an endowment. The endowment wasexclusively in the form of currency. I asked them: Onwhatbasisdoyoumakeanendowmentofmoney?

They replied: We researched the topic and found anopinionofImamAhmadthatitispermissibletomakean

endowmentofmoney,sowedidso.

At this point, they need to be asked: Did they doresearch intotheopinionsofothersaswellafterfindingthat opinion of Imam Ahmad? Did they look into theevidencebackingup thevariousopinionsso theycouldweightheirmeritsanddemerits?Iftheydidso,thentheydid nothingwrong.On the other hand, if theymerelyactedupon ImamAhmads statementbecause he camewithanopinion thatpleased them, then theirapproachwaswrong.

We would like to reemphasize that the tolerance of

Islamic

Law

is

great

and

the

concessions

in

it

are

many.

One scholar might have some deficiencies in hisunderstandingforwhichotherscholarscompensate.Thescholars, in this way, fill in the gaps in each othersknowledge and together present a complete picture ofIslamicLaw.

However,those

people

who

merely

chase

after

the

easy

opinionsof thescholarsarealmost falling intoa typeofheresy.Ineachschooloflawwefindsomeeasymatters.


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Oneschool

of

law

will

deem

amatter

permissible

while

anotherwillconsideritunlawful.Thesameschooloflawthat considers a given matter permissible will declareotherthingsasforbiddenwhichtheotherschoolsoflawdeemspermissible.Somepeopleapproach theseschoolsof law, taking from each of them the concessions and

easy

opinions

while

abandoning

the

difficult

ones.

This is very serious. These people arejust collectingopinions together without any guiding principle asidefromseekingoutwhatismostpleasingorleastdifficult.Theyseekouttheopinionsthatconformtotheirlazinessor their lack of desire to submit to the Law ofAllah.

SomeofthesepeoplewhohavenofearofAllahgosofaras to compile books that collect together the easyopinions of various scholars and then distribute thesebooks to the general public in an effort to make themassesasapatheticastheyare.

Thereisaverygoodstorythatrelatestothistopictold

alBayhaq.Itgoesasfollows:

The judgeIsm`lenteredupon theAbbasidCaliph

alMu`tadid,whopresentedhimwithabooktolook

over.Thebookwasacompilationofeasyrulingsand

concessions that various scholars had arrived at in

erroralongwiththeevidencethosescholarsusedto

support their claims.Upon looking over the book,

IsmlsaidtotheCaliph:Theauthorofthisbookis

aheretic!


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TheCaliph

asked

why.

So

the

judge

told

him:

Thestatements thatarementioned in thebookare

notrepresentedproperly.Thosewhogavetheruling

that temporarymarriage is lawfuldidnot consider

singing or certain intoxicants lawful. There is no

scholar who has never made a mistake. Whoever

collects thesemistakes togetherandactsupon themloseshisreligion.

At this point the Caliph ordered the book to be

burnt.21

Afriendofmineoncesaidtome:Howdesperatelywe

need

al

Mu`tadids

fire

to

dispose

of

a

number

of

books

likethisonetoday!Idonotthinkthatthisisnecessary.The Muslims have enough good sense andunderstanding to see what is going on. Their goodjudgment willbe the fire that willburn through thisfalsehood until only the truth, by Allahs grace, will

remain.

Peopleofknowledge throughouthistoryhavewarnedagainst chasing after easy rulings. Sulaymn alTaymsays:

21Al Dhahab,SiyarA`lmalNubal(13/465).


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Ifyou

were

to

act

upon

the

concessions

of

every

scholar, you will have collected within yourself

everypossibleevil.

IbnÀbdalBarrwritesonthistopic:

I know of no disagreement among the people of

knowledgethatthistypeofconductisforbidden.22

Ibn Hazm, alBj, Ibn alSalh23, and other leadingjuristshave stated the same thing.They informus thatthere isabsoluteconsensusamong thescholars that it isnotpermissibleforaMuslimtomakeithishabittochaseafter easy opinions and concessions.We have here the

testimony

of

four

of

the

leading

jurists

Ibn

Àbd

al

Barr,

IbnHazm, alBj, and Ibn alSalh that chasing afterconcessions is forbidden according to the consensus ofthescholars,lestanyonetrytosayotherwise.

AlAwz`,theleadingjuristofSyria,says:

Hewhoactsuponthestrangeopinionsofdifferent

scholarshasleftIslam.24

According to alÀwz`, thatpersonhas left Islam,eventhoughhehasnotdepartedfromthestatementsofthepeopleofknowledge.Thereasonforthisisthatthere

22Al Shtib,alMuwfaqt(4/134).23Al Shtib,alMuwfaqt(4/147).24Al Shtib,alMuwfaqt(4/144).


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willalways

be

mistakes

made

by

scholars.

The

most

eruditescholarwillhaveat leastoneseriousmistake tohis credit. If someone seizesupon thatmistakeand themistakesmadebyothers,andthenpassesthemoffastheopinions of people of knowledge, thenwhatway is heactuallyfollowing?

AlAwz`alsosays:

Weavoidfiveopinionsthatcomefromthescholars

ofIraq.Wealsoavoidfiveopinionsthatcomefrom

thescholarsofMecca.

Hethengoesontomentionthetenruling.

Ahmadb.Hanbalsays:

If a man were to act upon the opinion of the

scholars ofKfah regarding intoxicating beverages

andtheopinionofthepeopleofMadinahregarding

singing, and the opinion of the people of Mecca

regardingtemporarymarriage,hewouldbeabrazen

sinner.

ImamAhmadseesthismanasasinner,eventhoughheneverwentoutsidetheopinionsofthescholars.

ImamAlAwz`went farther,declaringapersonwhohabituallyseeksoutsuchopinionsanunbeliever.

ImamIbnHazmsaid:


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Thereare

people

who

see

the

religion

as

so

trivial

andwhohave so little fearofAllah that they seek

out theopinions that conform to theirvaindesires.

They look for what is easy from each scholar,

without even imploring into what Allah and his

Messengerhavesaid.

Chasing after concessions has evil consequences, themostseriousofwhicharethetwothatfollow:

1. It causespeople todisdain and think little of thereligion.Thereligionbecomesasal Shtibdescribesit:

aliquidflowingwithoutacourse.

Therewill remainof the religionnothing thatone canreferbacktowithanyconfidenceandsay:thisisit.

2. It will lead people to eschew the Quran andSunnahassourcesofIslamicLaw.

Wemust require people to return to theQuran andSunnah, not to the opinions ofmen. This is somethingthateveryMuslimmustadmit,forAllahsays:

Butno,byyourLord, they canhaveno faithuntil

they make you (O Muhammad) the judge in all

disputes between them and find in their souls no

resistance against your decisions, but accept them

withfullconviction.[SrahalNis:65]


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6.Going

along

with

circumstances:

Anotherwaypeople speakonbehalfofAllahwithoutknowledge isby going along with the circumstances,customs, and cultural norms of their society anddistortingthemeaningsofthesacredtextsuntiltheyaremadetoconformtothosenorms.Itdoesnotmatterhow

much at variance these practices arewith IslamicLaw.People are easily pressured by circumstances. Peoplenaturallyliketobeinagreementwiththosearoundthemand inharmonywiththeirnorms.Theyhatetoconfronttheir peers with what they dislike. Therefore, whensomething becomes widespread, commonplace, and

acceptedbythepeople, itbecomesdifficultforsomeoneto say to them: This is forbiddenbyAllah.To avoidthisuncomfortablestance,apersonoftengoessearchingfor any justification to declare that forbidden thingpermissible. Hemay even convince himself that he isdoingthistomakethingseasyonthepeople.

There can be no doubt that circumstances exert apowerful influence over people.Many feel helpless tochangeorimprovethesituationtomakeitmorepleasingto Allah. Because of this feeling of helplessness, somepeoplethinkthatyieldingtocircumstancesisamatterofnecessity.

Wemust ask:what is the definition of necessity inIslamic Law? No doubt, we recognize how necessityaffects Islamic rulings,but firstacaseofnecessitymust


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beproperly

established.

Not

necessarily

everything

that

a

person feels heneeds is actually a necessity. In IslamicLaw, necessity has its own defining principles andconditions that must be taken into consideration.Moreover,onceacaseofnecessity isestablished,then itmustbehandledwithinitsproperscope.Arulingbased

on

necessity

must

not

be

extended

beyond

the

people

in

need, and it definitely must notbe made universallyapplicable.

People can fall into sin,but even so, they should seekforgiveness.They should not look for away todeclaretheirsinfulconductlawful.Thereisamarkeddifference

between someone who sins and asks for Allahsforgivenessandwhomightverywell receive itandsome one who sins and the n delves into thebookslookingforawaytojustifycommittingit.Isthisthewayfor a person to conduct himself with Allah? Is AllahgoingtoaskhimontheDayofResurrectionaboutwhat

hefound

in

abook

and

what

he

read

some

scholar

say,

or

isAllah going to ask him aboutwhatwas clearly andunambiguouslystatedintheQuranandSunnah?

Allahsays:

On thatday,Hewillcall themandsay: Whatwas

theanswerthatyougavetotheMessengers?[Srah

alQasas:65]


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Thefact

that

Allah

is

going

to

ask

us:

What

was

the

answer thatyougave to theMessengers?preventsusfrom looking tomakeoursinspermissiblewhenweareunable to avoid falling into sin. Likewise, if we as asociety fail to do away with some widespread sinfulpractices, thisdoesnotgiveus anyjustification to look

for

some

way

to

declare

it

permissible.

What we must do is admit that it is forbidden,recognizethatitisgoingon,andpraytoAllahtohelpusdo away with it. Then we should look for ways andmeanstoridoursocietyofthatsin.Theleastwecando,ifallelsefails,ispraythatthenextgenerationwillcome

along and find the wherewithal to remove theblightfromoursociety.We shouldnever, inour incapacity toremoveasinfromourpeople,lookforawaytodeclareitlawful.

Letusconsider, for instance, theJews in Israel. Itmaybe true, due to a number of factors, that theMuslims

todayareincapableofremovingthemfromMuslimland.Sowe say thatgenerationswill comeafteruswhowillremove theJews from the land theyhavestolen,justasAllahsMessenger()hasforetoldustheywould.Ontheother hand, itwouldbe a crime for us to concurwithwhat theJews are doing and parcel out to themwhat

theywantofPalestinebecauseweareincapableofdoinganything about it. Ifwe voiced our agreement towhatthey are doing, we would be making the Jewish


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occupationof

our

land

as

if

it

were

Islamically

legitimate.

Thiswouldbethegreatestselfdeception.

Whatwemustdoisadmitourinabilityandfacethefactthat Israel exists,but not declare that this situation isright.WemustrecognizethatwhatIsrael isdoingisthesame as aburglar who takes over somebodys house

whentheownercandonothingabout it.Whatdoestheownerofthehousesay?Hesaystohimselfthatonedayhissonswillreturnandtakethehouseback.Hedoesnottell the thieves: Thehouse isyours,becauseyouareastrongthiefwhohasthesupportoftheEastortheWest.

Some people have misunderstood the idea ofrecognizingones circumstances asan excuse to changethelawsofIslam.TheymisinterpretthewordsofIbnalQayyim to this effect.Yes, Ibn alQayyim doesdiscussthefactthatIslamicrulingschange,buthe itnottalkingabout it the way they understand it. Theirmisunderstanding of hiswords is a classic example of

what happens when people who are not versed inIslamic Law and the terminology of Islamic Law startdelvingintoit.

IbnalQayyimwrites:

Islamic rulings change with changing customs,

circumstances,and

with

time

and

location,

and

in


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considerationof

the

intention

of

the

one

engaged

in

thematter.25

What he says, however, is illustratedby examples.Amuftmaygiveonerulinginonecountryandadifferentruling inanotheronthebasisofthedifferentcustomarypracticesinthetwocountries.Howisthat?Forexample,

take the currencies known as the dinr (aminted goldcoin) and the dirham (a minted silver coin). In onecountryadinrisequaltoeightdirhams,inanotheritisequaltotendirhams,whileinathirditisequaltotwelvedirhams. If amanwas under obligation to pay twentydinrsbutonlydirhamswereavailable,thenhowwould

themufthavetorule?Ifhewasinthecountrywhereonedinrwasequaltotendirhams,hewouldobviouslyhavetorulethatthemanmustpayout200dirhams.However,if the same case werebrought to him in the countrywhereonedinrequalstwelvedirhams,themuftwouldrule thatthemanmustpayout240dirhams.Theruling

hadto

change

in

consideration

of

the

varying

currency

standardsinthedifferentcountries.

Take another example: In IslamicLaw,divorceoccurswith a declaration from the husband. In the custom ofsome countries, ifahusbandwants todivorcehiswife,he says toher:Youare excused. In the landofNajd,



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however,such

apractice

is

unknown.

In

Najd

in

the

olden days, if aman intended to divorce hiswife, hewouldsaytoher:Ireleaseyou.Keepingthis inmind,imagine if awoman inNajd one daybumps into herhusbandaccidentallyandbegshispardon,soheturnstoher, smiles, and says: You are excused. Would

anybody

in

his

right

mind

declare

the

two

divorced?

Of

course not! Itwouldbejust as ludicrous if, outside ofNajd, aman playfully grabs hiswifeby the hand andrefusestoletgo,soshesaidtohim:Releasemeandheobliges, and someone declares it a divorce! This is thetypeofruling thathas tochange inconsiderationof the

customs

of

the

land.

Also,

this

is

a

case

where

the

persons intention has a decisive affect on the ruling.Therearemanysuchexampleswhenitcomestoissuesofdivorce,manumission,andothersimilarmatters.

Letusconsiderafinalexample.InsomeArabcountries,thewordhalb isused forbothmilkandsourmilk. If

someonein

that

country

declares:

I

swear

by

Allah,

I

willnotdrink halb, thenhewillhave to abstain frombothmilk and sourmilk in order to keep his oath. Inothercountrieswheremilkiscalledhalbandsourmilkis called laban, then a personmaking the same oathwouldstillbeabletodrinksourmilk.

Suchrulingsvary inconsiderationofboththecustomsofpeople,theirmannerofspeaking,andtheirintentions.The great jurist Ab Hanfah gave the ruling that a


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personcould

purchase

ahouse

even

if

he

saw

only

one

room of that house.Why? Becauseback then in `Iraq,houseswerebuiltwith identical rooms, so seeing oneroomwasenough.Hisstudentsdidnotconcurwiththisrulingandsaid thatseeingoneroomwasnotsufficient.Why? Because the customs had changed and people

started

building

houses

in

a

different

style

with

rooms

of

varying sizes and shapes. In actuality, did the laws ofIslamchange?No.Theruling,however,changedduetochanging circumstances. This is what Ibn alQayyimmeans when he writes: Islamic rulings change withchangingcustoms

There is another topic that often causes confusion fornovicesinIslamicLaw.Theissueiswhathappenswhenascholarchangeshisopinionbasedonijtihd.Ascholarcould offer a ruling today that something is say forbidden.Then, after engaging in further research andstudy,hechangeshisopinionandretracthisfirstruling

afterit

becomes

clear

to

him

that

what

he

thought

was

forbidden is actually permissible in Islamic Law. Somepeoplethinkthatthisisacaseofarulingchangingwithchanging circumstances. This is wrong, though somepeoplewhoarenotscholarshavewrittenaboutthisasifthe two were the same. When a scholar changes his

opinion

based

on

ijtihd,

we

merely

have

a

case

of

a

personchanginghismindafterengaging in ijtihdonamatter on more than one occasion. Something may


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becomeclear

to

ascholar

on

one

occasion

that

he

had

not

been aware of on another. He may see something aspermissible today that he considered impermissiblebefore andviceversa. It ishis responsibility,wheneverhecomestoanewconclusiononamatter,topresenthisrulingtothepeoplewiththeevidencethathereliedupon

to

reach

that

ruling.

The earliestof scholars,and even theCompanions forthatmatter,oftenchangedtherulingsthattheygaveonaquestion and retracted their older views. On someoccasions,ascholarwouldnotonlychangehisviewonamatter,but would send criers to the marketplaces to

make an announcement of the change.This shows thatwhen a scholar changes hismind, it is quite differentthan when a ruling changes on account of changingcircumstances.

It is quite startling that some people get these twomatters confusedwith each other, somuch so thatwe

find one of them saying: An example of an Islamicrulingchanging is that in thepastsomepeople thoughtthatawristwatchwasaformofmagicandtodaynobodythinks that. This ismore like ajoke than the seriousacademicdiscoursethatitpurportstobe.Firstofall,hasthere everbeen a scholar who passed a ruling that a

wristwatch was magic? The possibility that somemembers of the general public thought wristwatchesweremagicwhentheyfirstencounteredthemandthata


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personof

knowledge

responded

to

them

with

the

fact

that such devices are the result of craftsmanship, notmagic,isquitesomethingelse.ApersonwhoclaimsthatIslamicscholarseverdeclaredwristwatchestobeaformofmagic isjustpoking funat thescholarsandderidingthem.

We find someone else saying: An example of anIslamic ruling changing is the issue of slavery. Peopleused to have slaves in the past, and then the scholarsdeclared slaveryunlawful.Now this isutternonsense.Noneofthescholarseverdeclaredslaveryunlawful.ThematterofenslavingsomeoneisanIslamicrulingthatcan

befound intheQuranandSunnah.It isnotahistoricalphenomenon. It is, however, amatter that has specificcausesandconditions.

InIslam,apersoncannotjustbecapturedandenslaved.Slavery comes as a result ofwar and is oneway thatMuslims can deal with war captives. This is how the

issueof slaveryappears in IslamicLaw.The lawfulnessof slavery in this frameworkhasneverbeen and canneverbedisputedorrevoked.Thefactthatitdoesnotexist today forvarious reasons, oftenbecause the slaveowners freed their slaves or the state secured theirfreedom,doesnotmeanthattherulingonthematterhas

changed.TheversesoftheQuranonthematterareclearandbindingandhaveneverbeenabrogated.Noone iscapableofexpungingthemfromthetextoftheQuran.


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Fromall

of

this

we

can

conclude

that

the

pressure

of

circumstancesisthemostcompellingreasonwhypeopletry todistort the lawsof Islamandmake themconformtopublictaste.

Thefact isthatthereligion is intrinsicallyeasy.AllahsMessenger () camewith the true and lenient religion.

He came tomake things easy and not tomake thingsdifficult.Allah has placed no difficulty in the religion.The jurists have working principles like: If mattersbecomeconstricted,the lawsbecomemore flexibleandDifficultcircumstancesrequire leniency.Itwouldtakealengthydiscussiontodealwiththeseprinciplesinfull.

Whatitisimportanttoemphasizehere,however,isthatthese principles do not imply that we can usecircumstances and contingencies to free ourselves fromthelawsofIslam.

The only rulings that changewith the customs of thepeople are those rulings that are contingent on their

customs.As for the rulingsbrought tousbyAllahandHisMessenger (), they cannotbe changed under anycircumstances.


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www.islamhouse.comCONCLUSION

Religionisnotpublicdomainforeveryonetodowithastheyplease.It issomethingforwhichAllahhasreferredustothepeopleofknowledge.TheyarethepeoplewhoknowtheQuranandSunnah.Thesearethepeoplewhoprevent the religion frombeingcorruptedbyextremists

anddeviants.

TheIslamicawakeningthat isgoingonrightnowwill,withAllahs grace, show its fruits in the future. Itwillprovide us with righteous scholars who put theirknowledgeintopractice.Theywillbescholarscapableofcarrying out the duties of conveying knowledge andprovidingrulingsfortheissuesthatfaceus.Theywillbeable to oppose the childish novices who follow theirfanciesandarenotguidedbyknowledge.

IaskAllah tobless theMuslimswithscholarscapableof performing ijtihd who will carry forward the

standard

of

Islam.

I

seek

Allahs

forgiveness

for

myself

and for you, my dear readers. May Allah exalt themention of His Prophet, and render him and hishousehold and his companions safe from everyderogatorything.

Documents

Who Should Perform Ijtihad